We had several hours to kill before we hopped on our ferry to Seattle. We’ve been wanting to see Craigdarroch Castle but didn’t want to spend our time indoors and decided to walk to Beacon Hill Park and have a look see at the Emily Carr House.
December 13, 1871 marks the day Emily Carr was born. She was the first member of her family to be born Canadian (on July 20, 1871 BC joined Canada). Emily is one of the first Canadian artists to paint in Post-Impressionist and Modernist styles. She was also a writer, thinker, an advocate for social justice, environmentalist, and champion for First Nations (Indigenous People); she was a woman before her time or what I call a true woman and true individual.
Cute houses we saw while walking to Emily Carr House.
The Emily Carr House is at 207 Government Street in Victoria and is a Heritage Historic Site of Canada. It was actually a part of a larger plot of land owned by her father but was divided up amongst the daughters when their parents died. Emily and her sister grew up in Victoria as the city grew and changed. You can visit the house May through September. Unfortunately, we there in October. We didn’t get to explore the house but we walked around the property on our way to Beacon Hill Park.
Emily Carr House.
Emily Carr became more known later in life. To read more about Emily, click here. We tend to visit in shoulder season so the we miss the stuff that’s open during high season. If we ever visit during ‘in’ season, I’d like to check out inside the house.
Emily Carr artwork.
Emily Carr artwork.
It was a nice walk to Beach Hill Park, the streets had cute homes along it. It’s about a 25 minute walk from Swans Hotel in Downtown Victoria.
View of Port Angeles, WA, USA from a park bench at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, Vancouver Island, Canada.
We spent a couple hours taking pics of squirrels and peacocks. We’re gonna miss you Vancouver Island.
To learn more about Emily Carr, click here.
Jebus Mews & Andrea 
Wonderful post ~ with a shot of one of my favorite cities: Port Angeles, WA, 🙂
My grandmother and grandfather retired up in the Puget Sound area, about an hour south of Port Angeles. I’ve always thought I’d live in there (or the San Juan Islands). Loved the photos and learning of the Emily Carr house ~ wish you all safe travels!
We are so happy we figured out to fly home from Seattle. It’s so much easier and the food is yummy. We like the food in Seattle more than Victoria so it’s a great way to end the trip.
I really wish I was sent to summer camp but I think I’m doing better in the woods. I’m a bit nervous for our Sao Miguel trip because we’ve only hiked with Toni on Vancouver Island and she’s really good at keep my inner sissy at bay.
It’s strange, all our outdoors trips feel like dreams. They are so short compared to all the time we spend in the city. You guys have so much beauty and serenity at your doorstep. It’s incredible.
I think Seattle offers some of the best seafood around, and the overall vibe with the local restaurants is quite good. I miss it quite a bit when I am away (which is too often these days).
Sounds like you have some great adventures ahead, and a great quote you need while preparing for Sao Miguel “we’ve only hiked with Toni on Vancouver Island and she’s really good at keep my inner sissy at bay.” Hilarious 🙂 As for having so much beauty and serenity at my doorstep with the Olympic Mtn. range and wilderness, you are very accurate. Just having a discussion with JD Riso on her sight about this very thing ~ and home is beginning to pull at me more strongly than it has in the past because I want to explore my home, which has now become almost a mystery for me.
I fell in love with Emily Carr when I bought one of her books in the gift shop of the (?) Royal BC Museum (I think that was the name) in Victoria where I had gone for a long weekend in August 1991. At the time I had never heard of her and didn’t know she was an artist. I loved her affinity with animals and her love for the native people and their various cultures. Several years before that I had done a trip with my late husband to Alert Bay, BC to go “Sailing with the Whales”. It was a wonderful trip. When I read the Emily Carr book I realized that I had been in Alert Bay exactly one hundred years after she was there!
I did get to see a wonderful exhibit of her art at the big museum in Vancouver, BC about 10 years ago. If anyone hasn’t seen her art please Google her and have a look.
Thanks for sharing her with me again.
That’s amazing you were int he exact place 🙂 Too bad the house was closed. You mentioned her once and I also found her when googling off the beaten path Victoria. I’m afraid we’ll never see the castle because we’d rather sit in the harbor and stare at that scenery. That sounds like a wonderful trip you went on.
I have long been a fan of Emily Carr’s artwork, they are so full of spirit. Even though you missed seeing inside her house, at least you were able to rove through her beautiful garden. Love your capture of the vibrant dragonfly.
Thank You! Hope to see it next time. It was nice the gardens were open to explore.
Cheers to adventure
Wherever it takes
You its all how
You look at it
Your photos are always
High quality.As Sheldon Aleays
Thanks Sheldon! Your comments like your poems are always very creative! Love them 🙂
wow i really very like your photos
Thank You!